Flat Rock residents express support for park

Published: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 8:17 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 8:17 p.m.

The majority of 75 residents attending a public input meeting Thursday seemed to favor the idea of the Village of Flat Rock buying Highland Lake Golf Club and making it a municipal park.

The Flat Rock Park Exploratory Committee, charged with examining the feasibility of a new park and what it would entail, held the meeting at the parish hall of St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church on Greenville Highway.

Ginger Brown, chair of the exploratory committee, stressed that the meeting was the public’s chance to tell village officials what they would like to see in a municipal park, should it come to pass.

“We’re not here to advocate for the park, for or against,” Brown said.

Village council will make the final decision, she said, based on committee recommendations, which should be complete by late December. Council could decide whether to move forward with a park “within the next few months or so.”

Attendees were asked to circle their top three choices from a list that included open space; walking, biking and fitness trails; a dog park; playground; picnic areas; courts for tennis, pickle ball or other uses; a pavilion/gazebo; disc golf; horse shoe pit; shuffleboard, bocce or shuffleboard court; a community garden; water features; and a community center.

Open space, level biking and walking trails and a playground seemed to be the most popular ideas among the roughly 15 people who spoke at the meeting, including three children who said they liked the idea of having a place to run and play.

Resident Anne Coletta said she favored a “low-impact” park with bocce ball, walking trails, badminton courts, pickle ball courts and an open, pastoral feel. But she opposed “ballfields of any kind,” nighttime lighting or the village turning over control of maintenance to outsiders.

Highland Golf Villas neighbors Ed Foster and Tom Brown liked the idea of a park adjacent to their community, but felt there should be some sort of physical separation between the park and their homes.

“I think a park would be really fun and a good thing to go play at on weekends and after school,” said 10-year-old Ella Dockendorf, who cited a playground, fitness station and tennis or pickleball courts as her favorite potential uses. “No dog park; I’m not a big dog lover.”

However, several speakers — including Tracy Hall and Larry Rogers — expressed concerns about the potential costs of the village purchasing, improving, maintaining and insuring the 65-acre park.

“I understand why the people who live close to Highland Lake would want it to be a park,” Hall said. “But for the rest of us, it seems we would be paying a lot more in property taxes to maintain a park that people from all over the county or other states can use, when our property taxes are going to be financing that.”

“It seems like in the introductory remarks that I heard that this thing is a done deal,” Rogers said. “But I think first of all, how much does it cost? Are we ignoring that? Do we have the money to pay for it? Are we ignoring that?”

In response to concerns voiced about possible costs, Brown said village officials haven’t gotten that far yet.

“That’s what we’re doing here,” she said. “We’re trying to define what would be in the park. This is the first step. Once that part is all defined, then we can go and find out these figures on cost, maintenance, who does what. That’s what this committee is about.”

Vern George, who lives in Staton Woods, said the park would keep the village’s gateway attractive.

“Certainly the cost is a big concern to all of us, but I do see the cost as an investment in the environment,” he said. “There are nice places to live, they’re surrounded by green spaces and flowers and trees and things like that. It enhances the value of the surrounding properties and the entire area.”

<p>The majority of 75 residents attending a public input meeting Thursday seemed to favor the idea of the Village of Flat Rock buying Highland Lake Golf Club and making it a municipal park. </p><p>The Flat Rock Park Exploratory Committee, charged with examining the feasibility of a new park and what it would entail, held the meeting at the parish hall of St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church on Greenville Highway.</p><p>Ginger Brown, chair of the exploratory committee, stressed that the meeting was the public's chance to tell village officials what they would like to see in a municipal park, should it come to pass. </p><p>“We're not here to advocate for the park, for or against,” Brown said. </p><p>Village council will make the final decision, she said, based on committee recommendations, which should be complete by late December. Council could decide whether to move forward with a park “within the next few months or so.”</p><p>Attendees were asked to circle their top three choices from a list that included open space; walking, biking and fitness trails; a dog park; playground; picnic areas; courts for tennis, pickle ball or other uses; a pavilion/gazebo; disc golf; horse shoe pit; shuffleboard, bocce or shuffleboard court; a community garden; water features; and a community center.</p><p>Open space, level biking and walking trails and a playground seemed to be the most popular ideas among the roughly 15 people who spoke at the meeting, including three children who said they liked the idea of having a place to run and play.</p><p>Resident Anne Coletta said she favored a “low-impact” park with bocce ball, walking trails, badminton courts, pickle ball courts and an open, pastoral feel. But she opposed “ballfields of any kind,” nighttime lighting or the village turning over control of maintenance to outsiders.</p><p>Highland Golf Villas neighbors Ed Foster and Tom Brown liked the idea of a park adjacent to their community, but felt there should be some sort of physical separation between the park and their homes. </p><p>“I think a park would be really fun and a good thing to go play at on weekends and after school,” said 10-year-old Ella Dockendorf, who cited a playground, fitness station and tennis or pickleball courts as her favorite potential uses. “No dog park; I'm not a big dog lover.”</p><p>However, several speakers — including Tracy Hall and Larry Rogers — expressed concerns about the potential costs of the village purchasing, improving, maintaining and insuring the 65-acre park. </p><p>“I understand why the people who live close to Highland Lake would want it to be a park,” Hall said. “But for the rest of us, it seems we would be paying a lot more in property taxes to maintain a park that people from all over the county or other states can use, when our property taxes are going to be financing that.” </p><p>“It seems like in the introductory remarks that I heard that this thing is a done deal,” Rogers said. “But I think first of all, how much does it cost? Are we ignoring that? Do we have the money to pay for it? Are we ignoring that?”</p><p>In response to concerns voiced about possible costs, Brown said village officials haven't gotten that far yet.</p><p>“That's what we're doing here,” she said. “We're trying to define what would be in the park. This is the first step. Once that part is all defined, then we can go and find out these figures on cost, maintenance, who does what. That's what this committee is about.”</p><p>Vern George, who lives in Staton Woods, said the park would keep the village's gateway attractive. </p><p>“Certainly the cost is a big concern to all of us, but I do see the cost as an investment in the environment,” he said. “There are nice places to live, they're surrounded by green spaces and flowers and trees and things like that. It enhances the value of the surrounding properties and the entire area.”</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>